- Home Minister says no operation underway in Balochistan
- Promises severe action against those who do not accept the state
- “CTD to receive Rs 5 billion to enhance its counter-terrorism capability.”
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday said the horrific attacks in Balochistan that left dozens of people, including security personnel, dead were a “plot to subvert” the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Pakistan next month.
On August 26, Balochistan suffered a series of horrific attacks that resulted in over 50 deaths, including 14 security personnel, when militants affiliated with the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) attacked civilians, police and security forces.
In one of the deadliest attacks, at least 23 passengers were killed after being alighted from passenger buses and trucks in the Rarasham area of Musakhel, Balochistan.
Meanwhile, at least 10 people, including policemen and police personnel, were killed in a gun attack in Kalat.
Moreover, at least 14 brave sons of the soil, including 10 security forces soldiers and four law enforcement personnel, were martyred in clearing operations, in which at least 21 militants were neutralized.
Amid the latest terror incidents, Pakistan is gearing up to host the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting on October 15-16.
In this regard, Islamabad extended invitations to all heads of government of member states, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite tense relations.
Speaking in the Senate today, the Home Minister said the “fully planned” Balochistan attacks were carried out by “two or three terrorist organisations”.
“Many people are distressed because they do not want Pakistan to host [SCO] meeting,” he said, adding that the August 26 incident was a “conspiracy to sabotage the summit.”
Naqvi further said that no operation would be launched in Balochistan while “strict action would be taken against those who did not accept the state and took up arms.”
He also said the high committee reviewed decisions related to the National Action Plan (NAP) and coordinated with federal and provincial institutions, adding: “Parliament is supreme and will remain supreme.”
Giving details of Thursday's meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Quetta, the minister said dialogue can only be held with those who respect the Constitution of Pakistan and salute the national flag.
He said the meeting decided to provide Rs 5 billion to the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to enhance counter-terrorism capability while Rs 8 billion, including Rs 1 billion, would be given to each division of the province for development, which would be spent on the recommendations of their local MPs.
The security czar said that to overcome the shortage of federal government employees, between 30 and 40 officials would be sent to the province within two days.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant attacks since the Taliban government returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021, mainly in the northwestern border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also in southwestern Baluchistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
Last year there were at least 170 militant attacks that killed 151 civilians and 114 security personnel in Balochistan, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.
Islamabad accuses the new rulers in Kabul of failing to root out militants holed up on Afghan soil as they prepare to launch attacks on Pakistan.
— With additional contributions from APP
